1 perfect day

every morning when i swim, i think to myself "why not try to have a perfect day?"  again, just trying is good.  here's how my perfect healthy day would be:

5:00am: fresh lemon & ginger tonic

5:30am:  swim for 45 minutes, sauna, shower

7:00am:  breakfast (egg beaters & turkey or veggie sausage)

7:30am: COFFEE!!!!

8:00am:  work (doing my very best)

10:00am: snack (1 bag of soy chips)

12:00pm: lunch (turkey lettuce wraps, sugar free jello)

4:00pm: home (play with dogs, clean)

6:00pm dinner (something healthy)

8:00pm snack: (red pepper, almonds, jello)

9:00pm: bed time!

a "perfect day" would mean no wine.  it would include doing something creative.  i'd enjoy my time with my husband & the mutts.

i've never achieved this "perfect day", but i'm going to keep trying.

try...

i have this thought in my head, that if i just keep trying to do better, improve things, it will all be good.  i'm trying to eat better every day.  less cheese is this week's goal.  i'm swimming an extra lap when there's time.  i'm trying to be nicer to people.  to do better at work.

i don't know if i'm saying this right, but the gist of it is: just try! and when you fail (and you'll fail, like i fail) just keep trying!

the smallest changes that move you forward in life, are the ones that last.  baby steps.  broken eggs.  anything is possible.

Engine 2 Diet and Blood Work

I'm a total wuss when it comes to doctors. I go more than some people, but less than I should. There. I said it. I also know I am getting by on borrowed time. All my numbers are fine, but that's genetics tiding me over. I know there's no way I'm going to stay healthy if I don't lose weight.

This year, I've made some very good changes: I do yoga at least 4 times a week, recently started walking along to walking work out videos, drinking more water, and at least trying to not talk to myself like I'm a complete loser.

And then there's the ambiguous "eating better". I don't really know if I am eating better or not, since food journaling fell by the wayside. It wasn't hard. I just stopped. Now, I need to really, really dig into eating.

OH. MY. GOD. Will I STOP with all the WORDS already???

Here:

1. Tomorrow I get bloodwork done so I have baseline numbers.
2. In between now and Monday I clean out my pantry, fridge, desk....
3. Monday, I start the Engine 2 diet.

That is all! Over and out!!!



I've been tinkering with a really loose "Flexitarian" diet. That really means, I MEAN to be a vegetarian, but I'm going to go ahead and eat meat, too. But Tom's Muay Thai coach brought up this diet he's doing. This dude's a fireman, AND a Muay Thai coach. If HE can live without meat, so can I, at least for 28 days.

Nutritional Yeast

Ok, go on, grimace! The name made me avoid it for months. Finally though, I figured it was time to try it.

Nutritional yeast is something that vegans and vegetarians use to add a cheese-like, or umami, flavor to foods. Umami, from what I understand is a new "taste sense" that was defined last year. I don't have a good description, but it's more of a mouthfeel than a flavor - savory, and soft.

Don't mix up nutritional yeast with Brewers Yeast or baking yeast either. NOT the same! Nutritional yeast is sold in either a powder or flakes (I have the flakes). They contain a lot of B12, fiber, and it's a complete protein. Anyway, you can Google the stuff and read more about it. I'm just saying, it's delicious. You can stir it into soups, Tom's been putting it on toast with either butter or peanut butter, pretty much anything savory like that. I made a broccoli casserole that was AWESOME, and this morning, I made these cheesey potatoes.

Vegan Cheesey Potatoes!

Now, I'm not a vegetarian, or a vegan. When I ate the potatoes, I added some hamburger. That negated the vegan aspect of the meal. (joke) But, I LOVE cheese, and if I can trade it in sometimes for something with tons of nutrients and way less fat, even sometimes, I want to do that. The sauce for those potatoes is seriously really good. I'm going to make some mac and "cheese" sometime soon, I'll let you know how it is.

I am babbling.

XOXO!
Carol

Just say No to these five packaged foods!

In my quest to eat better and to control what I eat by cooking my own food more often, I was poking around the internets for advice. I found this article that has good ideas about foods that are easy to make, plus taste better, and are healthier than their store bought counterparts. And cheaper, which is good, too!

My favorites from this list are soups, stock, and beans. They're all super easy to make at home, and you save about a gajillion grams of sodium.

Here is the article! If you want ideas about making stock, too, let me know! I love making stock!

Link here!

why not?

i read an article about running, and all the excuses people make to not run.  it really had an impact on me, and it was part of what fueled me to join a gym.  anytime i start to come up with reasons not to swim, i think of this article, and i go swim.

i had a dream a few months ago, that i was a runner.  it felt amazing.  i woke up thinking, "some day i'm going to run.  with the metal plates in my ankle and weighing over 200 pounds, i believe someday i'll run."

my dad was a runner.  he had a triple bypass in his late 30's, and when he recovered, he became a health nut and marathon runner.  he went from being an overweight junk food eater, to a runner.  he was even featured in the newspaper, showing his giant heart bypass scar on his chest.  (i wish i had a copy of that!)

i'm rambling.   but what i'm trying to say is, why not?  why not swim every morning?  why not eat healthy and lose weight?  and why not dream to run?  

here's the full article.

Downsizing Portions

I love this study. Four different groups of people were asked if they wanted to downsize their meal at a Chinese restaurant. It seemed like it disrupted peoples' patterns and made them think, OH! you know, I don't really need all that food!

http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/health/diet_guide/Copy_of_Medical-Some-fastfood-patrons-in-study-agreed-to-downsize-meals_21857683

time for a new swimsuit!

well, i've been swimming for over 6 weeks now.  i am going 5 days a week.  yesterday i noticed that my old swimsuit is falling apart.  from too much swimming!  it just make me laugh, to think that i needed a new one due to overuse.  especially when this suit was too tight on me this past august.

when i get on the scale, i'm not seeing a big drop in pounds.  of course i tend to weight myself in a wet swimsuit.  i also get confused about my weight because it's different on the home scale then the gym.  my clothes are fitting better, so that's enough for me.

overall, i am doing great with exercise, and i follow my dietary goals 80% of the time.  i totally suck at my drinking goal of cutting back on wine.  my 3 glasses of wine in the evenings are hard to give up.  i know it's slowing down my weight loss some.  just something i have to keep working on.

it's been great talking to everyone about their progress, what's easy, what's difficult.  i'm lucky enough to be in close contact with everyone on the blog team, and it's amazing to hear the success stories as well as the struggles.

we're all just human, and we're trying our best, and that's the most we can do.  go team!

McDonald’s confirms that it’s no longer using ‘pink slime’ chemical in hamburgers

This article is reason enough for me to give up the fast food.

fast food is one of my addictions.  i've loved mcdonald's since i was a kid.  i stopped eating fast food in december.  yesterday i got a burger & fries.  and wow, it's not as good as i remembered it.

fast food is something i'm ready to 100% give up.

The Mind

Hello my fellow Weigh Loss Weirdos! This is my first post...

So, a little history... I have a long history of bad mental health, but I've only really been overweight for a few years now. However, in more ways than one, my mind and my weight seem to go hand-in-hand. After I gained this extra weight I started to get very depressed. The more depressed I became, the more I ate, and the more weight I gained.

So, my nurse put me on Zoloft, for the depression. I felt a little better, I guess, but one of the side-effects of Zoloft is weight-gain. It's a double edged sword. The worse I felt, the more Zoloft I was given. The more Zoloft I took the more weight I gained and the worse I felt.

Finally, after a few years and about 50 pounds later (heavier), I begged my nurse for something else. So, in December of 2011, we decided to switch from Zoloft to Wellbutrin. When I read the possible side effects of Wellbutrin, I was pleased to see weight loss was on the list. Hallelujah!

It's been years since I made a New Year's resolution, but I decided 2012 is the year for me to get better, mentally and physically. With the switch in meds, I'm feeling better, but I realize I need to do everything in my power to lose weight. I tried Weight Watchers a few years ago and after a year I stopped losing weight, I wasn't at a point I was happy with, and then they started the new Points Plus and I hated it, so I quit. I acquired a sort of "whatever" attitude.

So, as of right in late December, I started getting on the treadmill and walking. I started right off doing 30 minutes at a time. The first few weeks I only did it a few days each week. Now I'm doing five days a week! I'm also finding that walking and sweating and getting my blood pumping is really helping my mental health. I just feel clearer-headed and happier. It all goes hand-in-hand.

I've been having a little battle with the scales. Before I started the treadmill, I weighed myself and I was at the heaviest I've ever been in my life. How depressing! Just a month after starting on the treadmill I weighed myself again and I was down almost 10 pounds. Then, a few days later, I weighed myself again and my weight was back up, then I weighed myself again and it was down, then back up, then back down. What the hell?!

So I waited a few weeks and just last night decided to weigh myself again. I reluctantly got on the scales and waited as the zeros flashed, waiting to reveal my weight. Surprise! I'm now at my lowest weight in about two years! I've decided I'll just keep that low number in my head. I'm going to stay off the scales and stay on the treadmill.